Beginner's mistake and passing up shots
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:17 am
Hunting isn't shopping. Shopping presents unlimited opportunities to fill your trolley. With hunting, the opportunities to draw your bow are limited and, even then, one does not always have the opportunity to actually release the arrow. With walk & stalk there are lots of factors that can complicate things further so, when a shot eventually presents itself, I normally take it.
Saturday 21 August.
I tell my wife that I'm going to arrange a last minute wingshoot for the following day. She says, don't I rather want to go to the office to work? On a Sunday! Something is up. She eventually reveals that she booked a 4 night stay on our friend's farm in Dwaalboom and she wanted to surprise me with it at last minute so she was trying to nudge me to work ahead as the trip will clash with month-end.
Thursday 25 August
Arrive at the farm late afternoon with my family. Unpack. start the fire and sit back listening to the sounds of the bush and the children playing. Marius spends the evening with us at the campfire and we catch up and enjoy a meal and coffee together. He tells me about two young kudu bulls - same age - but the one has more trophy potential than the other. He describes both bulls to me. Can I take my rifle and try to shoot the smaller one? I say no. How the heck am I supposed to shoot the right bull based on a description. Unless ..... I happen to see both bulls clearly, together, and they hang around long enough to offer me an opportunity to shoot. Because it is such a challenge, I decide to try for the bull the next day.
Friday 26 August
Quick early-morning session on the range to check the rifle's zero. Driving back to camp I see 3 impala rams about 1km from camp and make a mental note. My wife drops me off where I want to start hunting the kudu. Immediately find spoor. Only been hunting for an hour when I spot a kudu. Bush is too thick, can't make out whether it was a bull or cow. I know the path they are taking and I keep on it. I come to a clearing and one of the young bulls steps out into the path 80m away. Ha ha. Murphy's law. Bull is totally unaware of me and presenting an easy shot. But I pass up the shot because I don't know which bull it is. Bull goes back into the bush and emerges again 10 minutes later. Jumps the cattle fence and browses on the bush next to the road. Heart skips a beat when the other bull comes out of the bush too, jumps the fence and stands next to the first one. Ah. The one at the back is smaller. He only takes 5 paces after the shot. What luck. Spend the rest of the day with the family. Put the rifle away. From tomorrow I hunt with the bow.
Saturday 27 August
Up before first light. Quick breakfast. Pack two oranges. Rangefinder, Binos. Ash bag. Etc etc Cammo'd from head to toe. Head straight for the area where I had seen the impala rams the day before. Slow down to snail's pace 100m from where I hope to find them. Spot what looks like an impala facing me at 100m. It is an impala. No, it's 3 impala rams. The wind is right and they don't know I exist. Game on. Watch them for a few minutes. They are walking in my direction. If they keep on this path they will pass about 40m to my left. I want to be roughly in their path so I crawl to my left and take cover behind a suitable bush. My heart is pumping. How lucky can I be. Yesterday the kudu and today the impala! I remove an arrow and nock it. The rams are only 50m from me now and heading slowly in my direction. I range the various landmarks. We are entering the home straight. Time to clip on the release, only ...... there is no release attached to my wrist. With a shock and despair I realise that I left my release at camp 1km away! Beginner's error. I backtrack ever so slowly until the advancing rams are no longer visible. Almost jog back to camp. Grab the release, and almost jog back. The rams did not wait around and I can't locate them. Opportunity lost.
Later that morning I get close to 2 warthogs on 2 occasions. The one warthog presents a shot at 28.5 yards. The other at 24.5 yards. Neither warthog is aware of me. It is soooo tempting to shoot but I pass up on both opportunities as both warthogs are mature boars which won't yield the best meat. It took a lot of willpower not to shoot but it was the right decision.
Spent the afternoon with my family. Shooting with the airrifle with my sons, doing game-drives, riding the quadbike and watching the kids run free and have fun - with none of the constraints they have here in the city.
Sunday morning I hunted again and although I got to within 30 yards of a trio or young porkers I never got an opportunity at a shot. Sunday afternoon spent with the family again and back to the city yesterday.
Very blessed and grateful for the opportunity.
Saturday 21 August.
I tell my wife that I'm going to arrange a last minute wingshoot for the following day. She says, don't I rather want to go to the office to work? On a Sunday! Something is up. She eventually reveals that she booked a 4 night stay on our friend's farm in Dwaalboom and she wanted to surprise me with it at last minute so she was trying to nudge me to work ahead as the trip will clash with month-end.
Thursday 25 August
Arrive at the farm late afternoon with my family. Unpack. start the fire and sit back listening to the sounds of the bush and the children playing. Marius spends the evening with us at the campfire and we catch up and enjoy a meal and coffee together. He tells me about two young kudu bulls - same age - but the one has more trophy potential than the other. He describes both bulls to me. Can I take my rifle and try to shoot the smaller one? I say no. How the heck am I supposed to shoot the right bull based on a description. Unless ..... I happen to see both bulls clearly, together, and they hang around long enough to offer me an opportunity to shoot. Because it is such a challenge, I decide to try for the bull the next day.
Friday 26 August
Quick early-morning session on the range to check the rifle's zero. Driving back to camp I see 3 impala rams about 1km from camp and make a mental note. My wife drops me off where I want to start hunting the kudu. Immediately find spoor. Only been hunting for an hour when I spot a kudu. Bush is too thick, can't make out whether it was a bull or cow. I know the path they are taking and I keep on it. I come to a clearing and one of the young bulls steps out into the path 80m away. Ha ha. Murphy's law. Bull is totally unaware of me and presenting an easy shot. But I pass up the shot because I don't know which bull it is. Bull goes back into the bush and emerges again 10 minutes later. Jumps the cattle fence and browses on the bush next to the road. Heart skips a beat when the other bull comes out of the bush too, jumps the fence and stands next to the first one. Ah. The one at the back is smaller. He only takes 5 paces after the shot. What luck. Spend the rest of the day with the family. Put the rifle away. From tomorrow I hunt with the bow.
Saturday 27 August
Up before first light. Quick breakfast. Pack two oranges. Rangefinder, Binos. Ash bag. Etc etc Cammo'd from head to toe. Head straight for the area where I had seen the impala rams the day before. Slow down to snail's pace 100m from where I hope to find them. Spot what looks like an impala facing me at 100m. It is an impala. No, it's 3 impala rams. The wind is right and they don't know I exist. Game on. Watch them for a few minutes. They are walking in my direction. If they keep on this path they will pass about 40m to my left. I want to be roughly in their path so I crawl to my left and take cover behind a suitable bush. My heart is pumping. How lucky can I be. Yesterday the kudu and today the impala! I remove an arrow and nock it. The rams are only 50m from me now and heading slowly in my direction. I range the various landmarks. We are entering the home straight. Time to clip on the release, only ...... there is no release attached to my wrist. With a shock and despair I realise that I left my release at camp 1km away! Beginner's error. I backtrack ever so slowly until the advancing rams are no longer visible. Almost jog back to camp. Grab the release, and almost jog back. The rams did not wait around and I can't locate them. Opportunity lost.
Later that morning I get close to 2 warthogs on 2 occasions. The one warthog presents a shot at 28.5 yards. The other at 24.5 yards. Neither warthog is aware of me. It is soooo tempting to shoot but I pass up on both opportunities as both warthogs are mature boars which won't yield the best meat. It took a lot of willpower not to shoot but it was the right decision.
Spent the afternoon with my family. Shooting with the airrifle with my sons, doing game-drives, riding the quadbike and watching the kids run free and have fun - with none of the constraints they have here in the city.
Sunday morning I hunted again and although I got to within 30 yards of a trio or young porkers I never got an opportunity at a shot. Sunday afternoon spent with the family again and back to the city yesterday.
Very blessed and grateful for the opportunity.
I have some ideas for the course outline: